Ethnic Diversity among Early Doukhobors

Ethnic Diversity among Early Doukhobors

I am interested in the slight racial diversity evident in modern Doukhobors that may have roots in our history prior to the 17th and 18th centuries.

When a Metis man I used to work with looked me in the eyes one day and told me I had native in me, I laughed and informed him that this was impossible, that I was a third generation Doukhobor-Canadian on both my mother and father's side of the family. Furthermore, I told him, my great grandparents had emigrated from southern Russia. He still persisted, however, suggesting there may have been some un-talked about "mixing" here in Canada or back in Russia with the Siberian natives. Perhaps Turkish, Tatar or Mongol blood (the Kars region Doukhobors spoke Turkic as well as Russia)??

So, I started asking questions about the more Asiatic looking Doukhobors, or the darker skinned ones such as my father. I was met with a lack of recognition or, in some cases, laughter. Is it too odd to think that our ancestors mixed with other tribes just as humans have naturally done for centuries? Overly proud ethnocentric attitutes run deep among the Doukhobors, thus the "hush hush" of any trace of inter-racial connections made at some point during our people's history. But the truth of the matter is this: a pure breed human is a rare thing!

I would be interested to hear from other Doukhobor family historians on this subject.